in regard of the Sonnes being Incarnate and taking our nature upon him For this indeed brings in many points to bee beleeved whereof considered onely as the second person in the Trinity there should be no need So as the two Natures in Christ must needs give cause to have more spoken of him then of the holy Ghost that hath but one nature The Doctrine concerning the Holy Ghost hath in all Ages beene most obscure so much that in some Churches it was some time before it was beleeved at all or so much as knowne whether there were a Holy Ghost or no even in these present times the Greeke Church a Church of great extent differs thus from us that where we beleeve the Holy Ghost to proceede from the Father and the Son that Church beleeves the Holy Ghost to proceed from the Father by the Sonne a nice difference in so Incomprehensible a Mystery that there seemes no just cause to lay such Anathemaes as some doe upon that Church for so beleeving If wee should beleeve in the Father and in the Sonne and not beleeve in the Holy Ghost this beliefe would never be sanctified seeing the Holy Ghost onely is the Sanctifier and sanctifies none that beleeve not in him and the beliefe not being sanctified would never bee acceptable to the Father himselfe notwithstanding our beliefe in him And this perhaps was the cause why the Offering of Cain was not accepted because though a Sacrifice yet it wanted a devotion sanctified by the Holy Ghost There is a sinne which is properly called The sinne against the Holy Ghost and for them that commit this sinne we are forbidden to pray a grievous sinne no doubt which stops the current of Charity whose nature is wont to overflow al banks but what the sinne is and by what marks it may certainly be known though a Question much agitated is not yet so fully explicated but that it leaves scruples but whatsoever it is or may be we may be sure that the Not-beleeving in the Holy Ghost is one principall ingredient in it Or rather where a true beleeving in the Holy Ghost is this sinne properly can never bee committed And therefore in making profession of our Faith there is none of all the Articles in the whole Creed that seemes more necessary to be said then this For by saying this Article we make it appeare there can bee no danger in praying for us as not being likely to commit the sin against the Holy Ghost who beleeve in the Holy Ghost But why is it that sinnes committed against the Father or the Sonne shall bee forgiven but a sinne committed against the Holy Ghost shall never bee forgiven neither in this world nor in the world to come Is it not that if a sinne bee committed against the Father or the Sonne the Holy Ghost being the Sanctifier can sanctifie that sinne and make it pardonable but if a sinne bee committed against the Holy Ghost there is none to sanctifie it and not being sanctified it justly exceeds all bounds of Remission O therefore thou blessed God the Holy Ghost Vouchsafe to endue me with a Spirit of sanctification that what other sinnes soever I may happily unhappily commit yet I may never be so unhappy to commit this dreadfull sinne of sinning against thee When we read the order of the Persons in the Trinitie the Father placed first the Sonne second the Holy Ghost last wee must not conceive it as though there were any Priority betweene them in time who are all Go-eternall or any disparity betweene them in dignitie who are all Consubstantiall but that it is an expressing of Order onely to our capacities seeing although they be Three Persons yet they are all but One God All but One in Substance though Three in Subsistence The Incomprehensiblenesse of which Mysterie though it exceed our capacities yet not our Beliefe Or therefore the fitter for beliefe because it exceeds our capacities And now having professed our Beliefe in God the Father God the Sonne and God the Holy Ghost wee may justly conclude and say O Holy Blessed and glorious Trinity Three Persons and One God have mercy upon us miserable sinners And thus is finished the first part of our Creed In whom it is we Beleeve the other part remaines containing What it is we Beleeve For to know In whom to beleeve and not know what to beleeve were to stand at a gaze and bee to seeke when wee come to our lesson Indeede the things wee beleeve have dependance upon the Persons in whom we beleeve and such dependance as without beleeving in those wee cannot truely beleeve these If wee did not beleeve in the Holy Ghost we could not beleeve the Holy Catholike Church nor the Communion of Saints for these are benefits that come by the Holy Ghost And if we did not beleeve in the Son of God Christ Jesus we could not beleeve the Forgivenesse of sinnes nor the Resurrection of the body for these are benefits that accrue unto us by the Sonne of God Christ Jesus And if we did not beleeve in God the Father we could not beleeve the life Everlasting seeing by him onely it is that we live and have our present being and shall have our eternall being And the first Article of this kinde is this I beleeve the holy Catholike Church I beleeve the Holy Catholike Church I beleeve it in deed but not in it as I doe in God For this is a Priviledge due onely to him and besides if I should beleeve in it I should beleeve partly in my selfe as being a Member of it but I beleeve there is a Holy Catholike Church Holy as in which are the Elect of God and Catholike as in which are of all Nations under heaven and this is not the Church of the Jewes for that Church though at some time it were Holy yet it was never Catholike as being bounded within Canaan but now as the Holy Ghost hath made the Church Holy by sanctifying it so Christ hath made it Catholike by enlarging it for at his comming at least at his going away he broke downe the Partition wall by his last Warrant to the Apostles Goe teach all Nations Baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Sonne and of the Holy Ghost But though Christ set his Church at large yet not long after his time a Sect of Hereticks would needs restraine it againe For Donatus and his followers would perswade the world that as before the true Church was onely in Canaan so now the true Church was onely in Africa but by beleeving the Holy Catholike Church I now disclaime both these Churches the Church of the Jewes as not being Catholike and the Church of the Donatists as being neither Catholike nor Holy But what use is there of this Article May not a Christian man doe well enough and yet leave this Article out of his Creed Indeed there is not onely great use of it but even necessitie For
which they make lying under the Altar may be heard and accomplished They pray for us that we may be partakers of the forgivenesse of sinnes and wee pray for them that they may be partakers of the Resurrection of the body But as this Communion of Assistance is but for a time so the Communion of Love will be for ever For we shall love one another and bee loved of one another as Members of one Body as Inhabitants of one Citie and as Fellow-labourers in the worke of exalting Gods glory a work which because it shall never end there shall therefore never be end of this Communion If the Communion bee of the Saints on earth betweene themselves this is visible charity as it is said If yee love not your brother whom yee see how can yee love God whom yee doe not see And it consists in supplying what wants soever we see in a brother as farre as wee are able and in doing to others as we would be done unto our selves If the Communion bee of the Saints in Heaven between themselves this is Intellectuall Charitie and it consists in a reciprocall love they beare one to another in regard of the love they beare all to God If the Communion be of the Saints in Heaven towards the Saints on Earth this is condoling charity and it consists in a griefe they take at any sinnes we commit least wee should not be found blamelesse at the great day of the Lords appearing If the Communion be of the Saints on Earth towards them in Heaven this is a congratulating charity and it consists in a pious rejoycing at the happinesse wee conceive they enjoy in the fruition of God and of his blessed Angels This Communion of Saints is a Gazophylacium or Treasurie where there is receiving indeed but not without contributing we must do our parts to it or never looke for any part in it and it is to be doubted there are many Hereticks amongst us concerning this Article that either understand it not or at least beleeve it not For if they did truely beleeve the Communion of Saints were it possible they should passe by the man lying wounded in the way and not doe as much as the Samaritan did take care of his curing It is no doubt good to observe the Rule that Charitie begins at home but it is good also to understand the Rule and to know what is meant by home for the Home of Charitie is included in the Communion of Saints and extends as farre as the releeving of a needy brother But alas because Charity seekes not her owne therefore she her selfe is not much sought after and while Charity is neglected this Article stands in our Creed but as a Cypher and as well we may forbeare to fay we Beleeve it as forbeare to shew by our actions that we Beleeve it Or rather better indeed to leave it out of our Profession then not to take it into our Practise And this Communion is therefore necessary to be beleeved because it is the flowre of Charitie and must be set in our hearts betimes that it may take the deeper root as that which shall continue when the flowres of Faith and Hope shall be faded and gone And now having spoken of the two Articles The forgivenesse of sinnes that properly relate to the Holy Ghost It followes to speake of the two next Articles which properly relate to the Sonne of God Christ Jesus whereof this is the first I beleeve the forgivenesse of sinnes And indeed after the Communion of Saints this Article followes very fitly seeing there is seldome any mention made of Forgiving of sinnes but that there is mention made of Charity also as in the Prayer taught us by Christ we say not Forgive us our trespasses but say withall as we forgive them that trespas against us For Love covers the multitude of sinnes and the sinnes being covered they are the more easily forgiven afterward But whether the connexion of this Article to the former bee for this reason or no there are certainly of this Article many great reasons For if there were not Forgivenesse of sinnes the whole world should bee damned For all the World being guilty of sins and the Wages of sinne being death if that wages be not forgiven how shall any man be saved But seeing there are which are Elect and ordained to salvation this makes me assuredly to beleeve the Forgivenesse of sinnes If we should not beleeve the Forgivenesse of sinnes Why have wee Beleeved that Christ was Crucified For why was hee Crucified but to pay the penalty of our sins And the penalty being paid how can the sinnes but bee forgiven To what end was all the suffering of Christ but to satisfie his Fathers justice That laying the severity of his justice upon him hee might conferre the benefit of his mercy upon us and how is his mercy conferr'd but by Forgiving of sins If we should not Beleeve the Forgivenesse of sinnes how could wee beleeve that God were merciful seeing the chiefest act of Mercy consists in Forgiving And to deny God to be mercifull what were it but to deny him the most glorious and the most eminent of all his Attributes seeing his mercy is above all his workes Alas if we did not beleeve the Forgivenesse of sinnes in what miserable affliction should our mindes be For knowing first that we cannot but commit sinnes dayly and then knowing how grievously our sinnes provoke the wrath of God against us and lastly knowing how fearefull a thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God in what a miserable condition should we be if we did not beleeve the Forgivenesse of sinnes If I should not beleeve the Forgivenes of sinnes what hope could I have they should ever be forgiven seeing all the meanes I have in my selfe to procure their forgiving is onely my beliefe that they shall be Forgiven O how comfortable an Article is this which makes it be truly said of Christ In odore vnguentorum tuorum curremus post te In the savour of thy sweet Ointments wee will run after thee For with this Oyntment hee healeth all our sores he makes us whole in all our diseases he makes us strong in all our Infirmities O my soule if at any time thou either by infirmity fall or by allurements be entised to commit sinne then have recourse to this Article I beleeve the forgivenesse of sinnes and thou shalt certainly find in it both rest and refreshing to thy fainting spirits And of what sins is it then that I beleeve the forgivenesse Indeede of all sinnes how great or many soever they bee for seeing there are no limits of Gods mercy neither is there any bound of his forgiving And therefore though mâ— sinnes be more then the haires of my head though a burden farre greater then I can beare yet I beleeve the Forgivenesse of them all But if I beleeve the Forgivenesse of all sinnes doe I not then beleeve
the Forgivenesse of a sinne which shall never be forgiven For is there not a sinne against the Holy Ghost which shall never bee forgiven either in this world or in the world to come and so my Beleeving will prove a false Beliefe and deceive mee in the end It is true indeed that such a Sinne there is but is it not that the chiefest Ingredient of that sinne is the not-beleeving the Forgivenes of sinnes And therefore hee that truely beleeves this Article is never likely to commit that sinne seeing the beleeving being from the Holy Ghost the sinne against the Holy Ghost can never be committed But is this the uttermost of our beliefe to Beleeve the Forgivenesse of sinnes Is there no place for beleeving the Merit of Workes If there be why hath it not here a place in our Creed Indeede in the Pharisees Creed it might perhaps have a place but in the Penitent Publicanes Creed such as wee professe our selves to be what place can it have seeing all his beliefe is terminated in this O God be mercifull to me a sinner Indeed as Solon amongst all his Lawes made no Law against Parricides not that hee did not thinke them worthy of Punishment but because he thought there would never bee any so unnaturall and therefore thought it not needfull to make a Law against a Non futurum against a fault that was never like to be committed So in our Creede there is no Article of the Merit of good works Not that good works may not Merit but because such Meritorious works are never like to be done by any and therefore not fit to make an Article of a Non futurum of a thing though possible yet not likely or rather so farre from being likely as not being possible And indeed which of the Apostles can we thinke should have been the Author of such an Article Saint John we may be sure would not For he saith plainely If we say wee have no sinne there is no truth in us and where there is sinne there can be no Merit Saint Peter we may be sure would not for though there was a time when hee thought hee could doe wonders of good works and even dye with Christ yet when it cam to the point he was glad to bewaile his infirmitie with teares and to say to Christ when time was Depart from me for I am a sinfull man And Saint Paul wee may well thinke would not For hee professeth directly To glory and rejoyce in nothing but in the Crosse of Christ crucified And for what serves the Crosse of Christ but for the Forgivenesse of sinnes And by the judgement of these Apostles wee may judge of the rest and therefore no defect of our Creed in this but the uttermost bounds of our Beliefe in this point beyond which there is no Plus ultra goes no farther then this to Beleeve the Remission and forgivenesse of sins We may indeed labour we must labour to do good works the best we can but all the Merit of it is but this and it is a great Merit too that we cannot rightly beleeve the Forgivenesse of our sinnes if wee doe not labour not to sinne and doe our endeavour to doe good works O my soule all we have to trust too all we have to hold by is the Forgivenesse of sinnes For these are they that make God angry with us and these forgiven will reconcile him These are the causes why he turnes away his blessed face from us and these forgiven will make his couutenance to shine upon us all Merit must be ascribed to him onely in whom they are forgiven between whose Merit and his Fathers mercy I know not how to distinguish and therefore take them both but as one motive to make me Beleeve the Forgivenesse of sinnes All of us have onely sinne Christ onely hath Merit his Father onely hath Forgivenesse For with him there is mercy and plentious redemption But may not a sinne be forgiven and yet the Penalty be still in arere Was not the sinne of David with Bathsheba forgiven and yet punished afterward by the death of the child that was begotten of her It is true indeed the life of the Child was taken away indeed but this was not properly a punishment for the sinne but a castigation of the sinner to make him the better to resent his sin and to bee the more wary afterward of committing the like Besides it may be thought rather a favour then a punishment to David for in taking away the life of the Childe there was that taken from him which upon his repentance would have beene a perpetuall eye-sore to him if it had lived according to that of St. Paul What fruit have yee of those things whereof yee are now ashamed Withall it was not perhaps without Mystery to shew that the pleasures of sinne never beare but blasted fruits which fall off the tree before they come to ripenesse But at what time is it we beleeve that sinnes may bee forgiven Indeed at all times as long as sinnes may be committed which is all the time that wee are living in this world but if once we be dead as there will be then no more committing of sinne so neither will there be any more forgiving of sinne but where the tree falleth there it will lye But is there not a sinne of which it is said It shall never bee forgiven either in this world or in the world to come And why is this said but because a sinne may bee forgiven in the world to come though it be not forgiven in this world and this perhaps is a cause why some have conceived that in the world to come even the Divels themselves shall bee forgiven But is it not that the Not-forgiving of sins in the world to come is therefore mentioned because in the world to come shall be pronounced the sentence of Not-forgiving and so it is but as to say it shall never be forgiven in this world upon private conviction nor in the world to come upon publicke condemnation For otherwise it is most evident if absolutely a sinne bee not forgiven in this world neither shall it ever bee forgiven in the world to come It is no small impediment to the beliefe of this Article that there are few who thinke they sinne at all but are of the Pharisees mind and their Consciences are as cleare as Chrystall and of those againe that thinke they sinne there are few that know the greatnesse of their sinne but they judge of their sin as of the Moone this little because farre from their sight that little because farre from their thought And of those againe that know the greatnesse of their sinne there are few that say with David I acknowledge my iniquity and my sinne is ever before me For sinne being an unpleasing sight they love not to look upon it more then needs they must while they looke not upon the discase they looke not after the
remedy and so between the little knowing of sinne and the little acknowledging of sinne the beliefe of this Article is in no little danger to be very little only Faith stands in the breach and supplies all defects and it is the worke of Faith and indeed of a great Faith that can truly say I beleeve the forgivenesse of sinnes There have been Hereticks of old who held this opinion that no fins should be forgiven that were committed after Baptisme and they grounded their opinion upon the saying of Saint Paul If wee sinne wilfully after we have received knowledge of the truth there remaineth no more Sacrifice for sinnes and grounding themselves upon this Text they would neither Baptise others nor be Baptized themselves till in their old age making account that Age having repulsed in them inordinate desires they might safely then bee Baptized without feare of committing any wilfull sinnes afterward But would any man beleeve that men of common sense could ever fall into so grosse an errour especially having heard it said At what time soever a sinner repenteth him of his sinnes I will put all his wickednesse out of my remembrance saith the Lord. That we may see it is not time that prejudiceth Gods forgivenesse whether before Baptisme or after whether sooner or latter but come at any time and bring Repentance and God at no time will be wanting to Forgivenesse For as it is mercy in God which is the motive to us to Beleeve the forgivenesse of sinnes so it is Repentance in us that is the motive to God to Forgive us our sinnes But why is the Forgivenes of sins put here inter Credenda amongst things to be Beleeved and not rather inter Agenda amongst things to be done seeing to Remission of sinnes there belongs Repentance a thing to bee done and without Repentance no forgivenesse Is it not that forgivenesse of sinnes is an effect of Faith and therefore justly placed amongst things to be Beleeved and though Repentance be necessary to come in the Recre yet Faith must lead the Vant-gaurd and have the Preceedence For if Faith goe not before Repentance will not follow indeed cannot follow seeing without Faith It is impossible to please God And now my soule observe the great extent of this Article it keeps mee from sinning against the Holy Ghost whilst I beleeve the forgivenesse of sinnes by his inspiring it appeaseth the wrath of God the Father whilst I beleeve the forgivenesse in onely his mercy It glorifies his Sonne Christ Jesus whilst I beleeve Gods mercy through onely his Merits that seeing this Article is reguardant to all the Persons in the Trinity I may hope that by beleeving it all the Persons in the Trinity will be reguardant upon me and specially the Sonne For indeed this Article and the next that followes are two flowres I may say that grow upon the very Grave of Christ For as there is no Forgivenes of sinnes but onely by the vertue of his death so there is no Resurrection of the body but onely by the operation of his Rising from the Dead And thus farre wee are brought by this flower of Faith I beleeve the Forgivenes of sinnes The next is the flower of Hope The Resurrection of the Body by which wee Beleeve the Resurrection of the Body and it followes indeed very fitly for seeing the body dyed not at first but by reason of sinne what should hinder if sinne bee forgiven but that the bodie should rise againe and returne to life This indeed is a flower something hard of growing but 〈◊〉 growne sends forth a most 〈◊〉 savour and as of all the Articles in the Creed there is none more hard to be beleeved so once beleeved there is none that ministers greater comfort For what need I care though my body bee laid in the grave and bee turned to dust so long as I am sure and undoubtedly beleeve that hereafter it shall rise againe and bee in the same but a better state then now it is In the same for substance but in a better for quallities and endowments If there were no Resurrection of the body then neither the godly should have Reward in their Bodies nor the wicked Punished but seeing both the godly shall bee Rewarded in their Bodies and the wicked Punished therefore there shall bee a Resurrection of the Body This Article no doubt is hard to be beleeved For who would beleeve there should be Regressus a corruptione ad generationem a privatione ad habitum a going backe from Corruption to Generation from Privation to Habit a thing impossible in Nature and improbable in Reason yet this impossibility in Nature this improbality in Reason must be beleeved before wee can beleeve the Resurrection of the Body Who would beleeve that a Body consumed to dust and that dust scattered by the wind into a thousand places should ever be brought together againe to be the same body it was before who would believe that a Body devoured perhaps by wild beasts perhaps eaten by Fishes and by digestion become a part of those Beasts or Fishes should ever returne to be the Body of a man againe as it had beene before Indeed none would beleeve it that looked only upon the power of Nature as were ledde only with the light of Reason but when we looke upon a Power that is stronger then Nature and are led by a Light that is brighter then Reason what should hinder why we should not beleeve it Shall we not beleeve the Resurrection of the body because we know not by what wayes it shall bee raysed Is it not enough that we know the power of Gods wayes but that we must also know the waies of his Power Doe we know how the body at first is formed in the Mothers wombe and would we looke to know how it shall bee formed the second time in the wombe of the Earth Have wee professed by the first Article of our Creed that God is Almighty and will we not allow him to do the works of an Almighty Doe we beleeve that nothing is impossible for God to doe and yet thinke there is this thing which he cannot doe Looke upon the Corne when it is cast into the earth and after a few daies you shall see it to bee nothing but as a kind of corruption and yet of that corruption doth God make the same Corne to spring up againe and to bee as flourishing as it had beene before and if God doe this in the Corne shall hee not as well doe it in our bodies But it is not perhaps that wee doubt of his Power but of his Will seeing his Will is not alwaies to doe all hee can And can we doubt of his Will his Will so often revealed to us in his Word so firmely assured to us by his Word This is the Fathers Will which hath sent me that of all which he hath given mee I should loose nothing but should raise it up againe at the